5 U.S.C. § 5753 — Recruitment and relocation bonuses
submitted 22 years ago by Pub. L. 108-411 to r/title-5-GOVERNMENT-ORGANIZATION-AND-EMPLOYEES · 843 words · no verdicts yet
The Office of Personnel Management may authorize recruitment and relocation bonuses for hard-to-fill positions and eligible new or transferring employees. Bonuses require service agreements, have percentage limits, and may be increased for critical agency needs.
(a)(1) This section may apply to (A) General Schedule employees and (B) another employee category that OPM approves at an Executive agency head’s request. (2) No bonus may go to a person appointed to or holding (A) a position appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent, except Foreign Service members other than chiefs of mission and ambassadors at large; (B) a Senior Executive Service noncareer position; or (C) a position excepted from competitive service because of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating nature. (3) “Employee” has section 2105’s meaning and also includes an employee described in section 2105(c). This section does not define that referenced term.
(b) OPM may authorize an agency head to pay a bonus only if (1) the position is likely hard to fill without it and (2) the person is either (A) newly appointed to the Federal Government or (B) already a federal employee who (i) moves to a new position in the same geographic area under OPM regulations or (ii) must relocate for a position in another geographic area.
(c)(1) Payment requires a written agreement to work for the agency for a period no longer than four years; OPM may set a minimum. (2)(A) The agreement must state the service start and end dates or how to determine them, bonus amount, payment method, and other lawful terms. (B) It must state when it may end early and what ending does. (C) Service normally starts when agency service or the move starts, but the agreement may set a later date as OPM rules allow, such as after basic training.
(d)(1) Unless subsection (e) applies, the bonus cannot exceed 25 percent of annual basic pay at the start of service multiplied by the service years, including a regulatory fractional year. (2) It may be an initial lump sum, installments, a final lump sum after full service, or a combination. (3) It is not basic pay. (4) Regulations may allow a recruitment bonus before duty begins.
(e) OPM may waive the limit for a critical agency need. The maximum then equals the subsection (d)(1) calculation using 50 percent instead of 25 percent, but never exceeds 100 percent of starting annual basic pay. The waiver cannot waive subsection (c).
(f) Before paying recruitment or relocation bonuses, an agency must establish the respective payment plan under OPM regulations.
(g) OPM may issue regulations, including repayment rules when the required service is not completed.
This section may be applied to—
employees covered by the General Schedule pay system established under subchapter III of chapter 53; and
employees in a category approved by the Office of Personnel Management at the request of the head of an Executive agency.
A bonus may not be paid under this section to an individual who is appointed to or who holds—
a position to which an individual is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, excluding members of the Foreign Service other than chiefs of mission and ambassadors at large;
a position in the Senior Executive Service as a noncareer appointee (as such term is defined under section 3132(a)); or
a position which has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.
In this section, the term “employee” has the meaning given that term in section 2105, except that such term also includes an employee described in subsection (c) of that section.
The Office of Personnel Management may authorize the head of an agency to pay a bonus under this section to an individual only if—
the position to which such individual is appointed (as described in paragraph (2)(A)) or to which such individual moves or must relocate (as described in paragraph (2)(B)) is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of such a bonus; and
the individual—
is newly appointed as an employee of the Federal Government; or
is currently employed by the Federal Government; and
moves to a new position in the same geographic area under circumstances described in regulations of the Office; or
must relocate to accept a position in a different geographic area.
Payment of a bonus under this section shall be contingent upon the employee entering into a written service agreement to complete a period of employment with the agency, not longer than 4 years. The Office may, by regulation, prescribe a minimum service period for purposes of this section.
The agreement shall include—
the commencement and termination dates of the required service period (or provisions for the determination thereof);
the amount of the bonus;
the method of payment; and
other terms and conditions under which the bonus is payable, subject to the requirements of this section and regulations of the Office.
The terms and conditions for paying a bonus, as specified in the service agreement, shall include—
the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated before the agreed-upon service period has been completed; and
the effect of the termination.
The required service period shall commence upon the commencement of service with the agency or movement to a new position or geographic area, as applicable, unless the service agreement provides for a later commencement date in circumstances and to the extent allowable under regulations of the Office, such as when there is an initial period of formal basic training.
Except as provided in subsection (e), a bonus under this section shall not exceed 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the employee at the beginning of the service period multiplied by the number of years (including a fractional part of a year, as determined under regulations of the Office) in the required service period of the employee involved.
A bonus under this section may be paid as an initial lump sum, in installments, as a final lump sum upon the completion of the full period of service required by the agreement, or in a combination of these forms of payment.
A bonus under this section is not part of the basic pay of an employee for any purpose.
Under regulations of the Office, a recruitment bonus under this section may be paid to an eligible individual before that individual enters on duty.
The Office may authorize the head of an agency to waive the limitation under subsection (d)(1) based on a critical agency need, subject to regulations prescribed by the Office. Under such a waiver, the maximum bonus allowable shall—
be equal to the maximum that would be determined if subsection (d)(1) were applied by substituting “50” for “25”; but
in no event exceed 100 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the employee at the beginning of the service period.
Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to permit the waiver of any requirement under subsection (c).
The Office shall require that an agency establish a plan for the payment of recruitment bonuses before paying any such bonuses, and a plan for the payment of relocation bonuses before paying any such bonuses, subject to regulations prescribed by the Office.
The Office may prescribe regulations to carry out this section, including regulations relating to the repayment of a bonus under this section in appropriate circumstances when the agreed-upon service period has not been completed.
Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 108–411, title I, § 101(a)(1), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2305; amended Pub. L. 114–323, title IV, § 412(1), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1932.)
- 2004Enacted · Pub. L. 108-411 · 118 Stat. 2305
- 2016Amended · Pub. L. 114-323 · 130 Stat. 1932
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 108-411 on 2004-10-30.
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